


Lying By Omission

by cyandlne



Category: Tales of Graces
Genre: ???? - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Stealing, stupid fluff may I add
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 10:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3765121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyandlne/pseuds/cyandlne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sophie discovers the hard way that in her very circle of friends is a criminal and the victim of their crimes! Can she really tell someone about these heinous acts, or will she let her other friend continue to be hurt by his actions?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lying By Omission

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, this is very stupid. And silly. But read it anyway, if you want.

"Sophie, can you go wake everyone up? Breakfast is almost ready."  
The motherly Cheria stood, back facing the one to whom she spoke. Sophie nodded with a little grunt in affirmation.  
Waking people up was one of Sophie's favorite things to do. Everyone responded differently. Her favorite was Pascal. She always presented a particular challenge that brought Sophie a strange sense of satisfaction, and gratification once completed.  
First, Asbel.  
"Asbel? Asbel? It's time for breakfast, Cheria said so." She slowly shook him and nudged his body. With a slow reaction, he sat up, his hair even more of a mess than usual. He smiled at the little one."  
"I'll be up and out in a minute." Asbel spoke with a hint of grogginess in his voice. Sophie smiled.  
Up next, one that favored Sophie to be woken up by. Captain Malik.  
"Captain! Captain!" She said, cutely whispering in his ear. "Breakfast time!" In her right hand, she held a cup of coffee for him, the main reason he woke.  
When he finally sat up, he silently took the coffee and patted her head. Her eyes went wide. She loved that.  
It was time for the hardest part of the morning. Getting Pascal out of bed.  
Everyone hated doing it and she hated everyone for doing it. Sophie was the only exception to both rules. When she opened her door, she met the sight of a figure, right arm and leg hanging off a disorganized bed. Her face was in the pillow. Normally, Sophie might assume she had died, but she had come to accept that that was just how Pascal slept. Messy and sporadic.  
"Pascal?" Sophie nudged her a little. Pascal grunted.  
"Cheria's making banana pancakes for breakfast. You should get up before Captain eats them all, she said." Sophie lied a little.  
"Captain wouldn't eat even one banana pancake. Trust me, I've tried." Pascal saw right through it.  
"Please get up. Cheria will come and bang pots and pans." Pascal didn't budge.  
"Or Hubert will dump cold water on you."  
Silence for a good 15 seconds.  
"I'll be up in a few." The muffled voice spoke into the pillow, but Sophie understood.  
Finally, last but not least, Hubert.  
Getting to wake Hubert up was always a rarity. More often than not, he'd be up before the rest of them. Sophie considered it ritual to wake the rest of them up together. Hubert enjoyed doing so, but would sooner die than admit it.  
Sophie very slowly peeked around a crack in the door. Hubert slept quietly, she noted, in what Cheria had called a 'fetal position'. His glasses were nicely set on the table beside him.  
"Hubert?" She called out softly. No response.  
She inched her way to the bed, a little apprehensive to wake him up. She didn't know how he would respond.  
"Hubert," She called out again. Although she couldn't expect that to wake him up, she really hoped it would.  
Sophie finally decided to pull off his covers and let the cold wake him. She didn't want him to be angry at her. With a swift motion, she grabbed the blanket and pulled it toward the foot of the bed, careful not to touch the sleeping figure.  
What she saw shocked her. Astonished her. Confused her. Mortified her. So much so that she left without a word.  
She ran back into the kitchen.  
"Is everyone awake?"  
"They will be."  
Sophie sat at the breakfast table, completely apprehensive. The only noise was the sizzle of the stove.  
"Cheria?" She finally asked.  
"What's up, Sophie?"  
"Is it ok to not tell something bad that someone did? Like, if you saw someone do something they shouldn't but didn't tell anyone." She asked. She could almost hear Cheria's lips purse.  
Cheria spoke without turning around, a little nervous.  
"We call that lying by omission. And lying is bad, remember."  
"But you said lying is good, if it protects someone or is in good intention."  
"...I suppose so. But it's only good if it doesn't hurt someone else. So, if someone asks you if they look bad, you lie and say that they look good, even if they don't, to protect their feelings. But if someone asks you if anyone cheated at a game, and you saw your best friend cheat at that game, you should tell the truth. It may be hard to hurt your friend like that, but they did something dishonest and hurt someone else in the process. It's only fair."  
"...Okay, Cheria. I have something I think I should tell you."  
"You can tell me anything, Sophie. As long as it's the truth."  
"Someone here, in this building, in our party, is a criminal."  
"...Huh?" Cheria turned around for the first time. She knew Sophie had a wild imagination, but she could be serious.  
"Um, do you remember when Pascal said a couple days ago that her orange scarf went missing?"  
"I do."  
"Well, um, this morning, when I went to wake everyone up..."  
"What happened?" Cheria felt a little better.  
"I saw Hubert! And he was asleep, but he..." She got up and went on the ground, mimicking his sleeping position.  
"He was asleep like this, and," Maneuvering her pigtail to resemble what she saw, she held it in both hands and laid it next to her.  
"And, and he had the orange scarf! In his hands! The same one that Pascal said she lost! And he was holding it, and, and, and..."  
Cheria let out a hearty giggle. Sophie got up.  
"You did the right thing, telling me. And you're saying he stole it from her?"  
Sophie nodded silently.  
"I see. What do think we do?"  
"I think...I think we should tell Pascal."  
"Hmmm....we could. Or we could do something better. Later, we'll tell Hubert we saw. That way, he can give it back and apologize himself, and they won't fight about it."  
"That sounds like a good idea." Sophie's eyes went wide.  
"Then it's settled."  
As the party came in from breakfast, everyone acted normal. Hubert came out and looked a little upset.  
"Cheria? Were you perhaps the one that woke everyone this morning?"  
"It was Sophie." Cheria said, dishing out servings of pancakes.  
"Sophie," Hubert turned to her. Her heart pounded. "Please just wake me up normally. To pull the covers off of me in the morning was just cruel. And cold." He smiled at her a little. She didn't respond.  
She sat with Asbel on her left and Hubert on her right. Every so often, she would sneak a glance at him. To think she sat next to a hardened criminal! And the victim was to his right no less!  
Breakfast was a small affair of chitter and chatter. Everyone was too tried to do anything of interest. Usually, Sophie would initiate a lot of conversation, but this morning, she was too tense.  
Once everyone had finished their portions and Pascal had finished the remainder of the food, they began to part ways.  
"Hubert," Cheria said, making Sophie jump. "Can you stay back and help with dishes?"  
"I suppose." He said, still just a little tired. He stood next to Cheria, drying as she washed. Sophie stood behind the two.  
"So anyway, Hubert, Sophie has something she'd like to say."  
"Is that so? She needs to say so herself."  
"Um, Hubert, when I went to wake you up this morning, I pulled off the covers..."  
"Yes. I was there."  
"And I saw holding Pascal's scarf! The one that she said she lost, but she didn't lose it, did she? You took it from her! And I-"  
Hubert turned around swiftly and put his hand on her mouth. His face was a brilliant shade of red and he wouldn't look her in the eye.  
"Sophie! Please not so loud."  
"But you stoe it." Her words seemed to say behind muffles.  
"Okay, don't tell Pascal, alright? I did take it."  
"But why?"  
"Yeah, Hubert. I thought you and Pascal were on good terms." Cheria said, doing little to sound serious.  
"You know why, Cheria. And Sophie, it might be hard for you to understand. But I like it."  
"I like it too. But I didn't steal it. If I wanted it, I would've just asked-"  
"Well, yes, but, it's hard to ask. I thought she might not notice because it was the scarf she liked the least. But I like it. A lot. And I like to hug it when I go to bed."  
"Though with romantic intent, you're beginning to sound a little creepy, Hubert." Cheria laughed a little.  
"Romantic? Hubert, do you-" Sophie began to ask.  
"Short answer, yes. Long answer, probably. Explanation, please don't ask." Hubert said quickly.  
"Alright, that's enough. I need to get dressed."  
Sophie ran to the doorway and held her arms out.  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"You have to apologize to Pascal and give her scarf back."  
"What? Why? She doesn't miss it."  
"Yes she does. Plus you love her. It's not nice to steal from those you love."  
Hubert took a deep breath.  
"....Fine."  
Hubert went back into his room and retrieved the scarf. Apprehensively, he knocked on the door to her room.  
"Yeah?" She opened it, a little shocked to find Hubert at her door. Cheria and Sophie stood in the kitchen, quietly observing in case something went wrong. Or in other words, eavesdropping.  
"What's up, Little Bro?"  
Hubert shamefully held the scarf out to her, looking back.  
"Oh! You found the scarf!"  
"No, I...I took it."  
"Huh?"  
"I took it! There, are you happy?"  
"Well, sure I'm happy, I have it back! I don't even like it that much, it was something Poisson made for me. It's super ugly though. You can keep it, if you want. It's too hard to tell her I don't like it. But if you keep it, it's a win win!"  
"Oh, alright. I'll keep it. But you owe me."  
"What? You took it from me in the first place!"  
"...Huh? Wait,"  
Pascal went up to him and held his chin to turn him. He now faced her.  
"So we're even. Yeah?"  
Hubert gulped. "I s-suppose."  
"Neat! Now go get changed." Pascal slammed the door.  
Hubert turned back around.  
"Was that so hard, Hubert?" Cheria did little to hide her grin.  
"See? You just have to apologize." Sophie said, proud of herself.  
Hubert said nothing and went back to his room.  
The scarf had a little less meaning, considering Pascal didn't like it. But she still wore it. And then she gave it Hubert.  
And to Hubert, that gave it all the meaning in the world.


End file.
